Christian Conferences....to Go or Not to Go

In the past, I wasn’t a big fan of conferences, Christian or otherwise, probably because I saw them as being a bit like committees; places where people gather to talk and even enthuse about the work that other people are doing. I saw them as a bit of a waste of time as I wanted to get on with the task. 

However, I’ve since learned the value of some conferences as well as the more obvious point that you reap what you sow. Whether or not I enjoy or benefit from attendance at a particular conference is usually down to my own motivations and attitude.

This year, by virtue of circumstances (problems at my church), now that the Summer missions have ended, I’ve got more free time than usual. I decided that attending various Christian conferences was a good use of the time that I may not have going forward. 

As well as recommending some good ones, I thought it might be useful to think about the main reasons to go or not to go. As always the list is not exhaustive and I’m sure there are many others that people can add.

Reasons to go

1. To learn: This has to be top of the list. Whether it’s training for ministry, studying the Bible or practical instruction, Christians should always be learning. At some conferences this year, people were returning for the umpteenth time realising that there was always something new to learn.

2. Fellowship: To spend time with like minded believers. Some find that due to age or infirmity or having to attend a church where others aren’t on the same page, conferences are a breath of fresh air as they can be encouraged by those who understand them. There is also the corporate worship at many conferences including enthusiastic singing which can raise the roof!

3. New ideas, resources and organisations: Conferences are a great place to gain inspiration, catch the vision and consider new ways of thinking to take back to local churches for practical use. They can also be a good place to network with people in the know about specific topics or to meet people representing organisations or mission agencies and to access their resources like books or other materials.

4. Broadening horizons: This may be slightly controversial but conferences tend to draw people from a wider spectrum than our usual church circles. It’s good to be reminded that there are fellow believers out there who don’t always do things like we do. We can become narrow in our thinking and practices if we separate too much from other denominations. Conferences can bridge that gap in a way that allows us to dip our feet in the water without being forced to go for a swim.

5. Rest: For those in ministry especially leadership roles or who have demanding jobs, conferences can provide a well needed break from responsibilities and the stress of everyday life. Hopefully, they will return energised and with greater vision for sharing the Gospel in their normal circles.

Reasons NOT to go

1. Churchless: There seem to be a growing number of Christians who are in this unbiblical position, many of them permanently. They often pop up at conferences and some seem to see this as a way of fulfilling their responsibility to meet with other believers. It’s not the same thing as we all need to be committed and involved in serving in a local church. Conferences should supplement our regular attendance at a local fellowship not replace it.

2. No interest: It may seem obvious but I don’t recommend attending a conference about a topic or subject that you aren’t that interested in. There are thousands of conferences across the world each year so pick and choose those where you will at least be able to apply something that you learn. Don’t just go for the sake of it. Otherwise you are just wasting your time and money as well as the efforts of those hosting the conference.

3. Soapbox: Even as I write this I know there are people booking conferences so they can go and convince unsuspecting attendees that their particular view of the world is right and everyone else’s is wrong. Whether it’s the flat earthers, the covid conspiracy theorists or the KJV only brigade. They can create panic or convince people their church leaders are guilty of promoting heresy. They are best avoided at all costs. Some recent training I attended began with a list of isms that we weren’t allowed to discuss during the week!

4. Self promotion: There’s nothing worse than beginning a conversation with a stranger at an event only to discover they are just there to promote their own organisation or resources that usually have nothing to do with the conference. They may be trying to get you to follow their blog or YouTube channel or to support them in some other way. (The exception to this is if they are part of the conference or have an official stand represented.)

5. Stalking/harassment: I’m not talking here about Christians who hope to meet someone special at a conference, although if that is the only reason for attendance it may not be wise. This is about those who idolise particular worship leaders, preachers or others with celebrity-like status. They follow them everywhere and almost worship the ground they walk on. We shouldn’t copy the world by chasing after individuals in this way and godly leaders won’t encourage this admiration. Many well known individuals have fallen recently and this can wreck the faith of those following them too closely.

List of UK Conferences

1. Fellowship of Evangelistic Workers (FEW)- This 3 day residential conference in January is hosted by the Association of Evangelists and is mainly for those involved in evangelism in some capacity or another. It’s probably my favourite and I always try to get to it.

2. The Open-Air Mission (OAM)- This 1 day conference is usually in October. There are reports from the various evangelists who work for OAM as well as a speaker. This year the conference was held  in 3 regional locations to allow more people to attend. 

3. United Beach Missions Reunion (UBM)- This weekend residential gathering in North Wales is held immediately after the end of the Summer missions in early September. It’s a chance to strengthen friendships made on mission teams, hear some good teaching and have some fun. 

4. Answers UK Mega Conference (AiG)- This huge non residential 3 day conference, hosted by organisations including Answers in Genesis and Creation Research has occurred bi-annually in the UK in October. The speakers are experts in their fields and their experiences on the world stage amongst non-believers are fascinating. If you aren’t a 6 day, young earth Creationist, you will be after attending this conference!

5. Reachout Trust Convention- A smaller residential conference for those interested in reaching out to people trapped in cults like the JW’s, Mormons, New Age or even the occult and other religions. Information and testimonies from former cultists.

6. Living Waters Europe Ambassador’s Academy- A week of training in evangelism in October based in Lincoln. This isn’t residential but it operates similarly to a conference in that there are speakers from the front and a book stall. This year there was a partnership with the Open-Air Mission so that attendees could put what they were learning into practice at lunchtimes. 

7. Oak Hall Word Weekends- This organisation known for its skiing holidays and match making skills, also hosts residential conferences or Bible study weekends in Kent and other conferences at important times of the year.

8. Foundation Matters Missions Weekend- This residential conference has been held bi-annually at Pine Lake in Derby. It gives people the opportunity to learn about various mission opportunities and hear from current and former missionaries.

9. Living the Passion- This residential evangelism conference in October is hosted by a number of organisations including Counties, GLO, Church Growth Trust and Echoes International. 

10. Keswick Convention- This FREE conference in July encompasses 3 weeks of teaching and worship in the beautiful countryside of Cumbria. Accommodation can be tricky to find as thousands of people attend. Serving as a volunteer is a possibility..

Hopefully, you’ve now got some ideas for 2025. I’ve been to all except the final two on my list. It’s also a good idea to try and go to day or residential conferences for the mission agencies supported by your church so you can keep in touch with what’s going on further afield and learn how to better encourage, support and pray for your missionaries.

I pray that Christian conferences will help believers catch the vision and share the Good News of Jesus here in the UK and elsewhere on foreign fields.

The Danger of a Wrong Diagnosis

Many of us have had the frustrating experience of being repeatedly told that the result of a medical investigation is that there is nothing wrong, or to put it in simpler terms “the blood tests are normal.” Our plea which seems to fall on deaf ears, “But Doctor, I just don’t feel right!”

The weekend before last, I went walking with some friends. A few steps (literally) up the first hill and I was gasping for breath, wheezing, and with serious chest pain. Berating myself for being unfit which seemed to be the only possible explanation, I forced myself to continue at a slower pace and finished the walk in the pouring rain several hours later. Seemingly, no harm done, apart from my wounded pride.

At church the following day, a friend suggested that this was not normal, even for an unfit person, I had already been walking regularly so was not that unfit, she then told me of someone that had had a heart attack in similar circumstances at 40. I felt afraid, but not very afraid.

The following day, I woke up with slight chest pain and, my friend's words ringing in my ears, decided to go to A and E. To their credit, they took the situation more seriously than I had been taking it up to this point and arranged all manner of tests. After several false alarms, a few days later I was diagnosed with severe iron deficiency anaemia and told not to do any further exercise, until I could have the first of several iron infusions.

Suddenly, a lot of symptoms I’d been struggling with on and off for years made sense. Why had this not been picked up earlier, you might be wondering?

Basically, because I have an under-active thyroid which involves similar symptoms, every-time I tried to get to the root of the problem, I would end up in a circular conversation like the one above. I’d grown so tired of fighting a losing battle with medical professionals that I’d given up and convinced myself that it was my thyroid issues that were the problem.

What’s my point? I think that sometimes we do the same thing in evangelism.

We might meet someone in the street and be so determined to communicate our message, or reach as many people as possible, that we don’t really listen to the person in front of us. We provide a solution without really hearing the problem. The person is left feeling like a number in a doctor’s waiting room, or worse, telling us that they still don’t feel right (understand the Gospel) by which point we’ve already finished our script, given them a book that doesn’t answer their questions, and moved on to the next person.

We can also make assumptions about what someone believes and end up in long discussions that don't deal with their real problem. I covered this last time in the difference between red herrings and real hindrances. But we can also do it when we assume that because someone is a Muslim, they won't believe that Jesus died on the cross, or because someone is a Catholic, they are relying on good deeds to get to Heaven. Sometimes, this happens because we sub-consciously like to show off our knowledge, or conversely it may happen because we are ignorant about something the person has mentioned, and we don't want to admit this. I've even ended up in a long discussion about Creation vs Evolution with someone who also believed in Creation because I wasn't listening properly to what he had said. Whatever the case, we haven't gathered the correct information which will inevitably lead to a wrong diagnosis.

Perhaps, more worryingly, we can make assumptions about what people need without reference to the Bible, or God. We might decide that they need food, a place to stay, help getting a job, a reference, a loan, friends, a social life, a holiday, time off etc. Yet, when someone is sick, they need a doctor not a well-intentioned stranger to make a diagnosis. We can be impulsive and jump in with a wrong diagnosis. The sin-doctor is Jesus, and we must refer to Him first if we are to really help anyone.

Another tendency is to determine that we can save the person either through our exhaustive efforts, or through money, or practical help. We give 24/7 to a person for weeks, months, years. We have everyone praying for them. We raise their plight at every opportunity. We create dependence, then resentment. We are left broken when the person isn’t saved and finally walks away from God for good. We can’t redeem or pay a ransom for someone else (Psalm 49). This is another form of wrong diagnosis as we have wrongly, (and usually subconsciously), determined that the person needs us rather than God.

I’m sure we can all see the danger of giving someone false assurance of salvation, yet we do it often. John MacArthur said once that if someone came to his office with doubts as to whether or not they were saved. He would say to them, “You’re probably not saved”, and explain again the way of salvation, rather than offer false assurance. Each time a member of another religion tries to tell us that we are all on the same path, or a cult member says that they are a Christian, or someone says that they were born a Christian, or that they are sure they are going to Heaven because of good works, and we fail to challenge it…we are potentially giving the person false assurance that they are saved. In this case, if we don’t pluck up the courage to tell the person we don’t agree with their statements, we may be contributing to their own wrong self-diagnosis!

A less likely issue in street evangelism, but something that is occasionally possible would be making a real Christian doubt their salvation. We might wrongly decide that the person isn't a Christian based on something they say or do, or we might be, usually unintentionally, adding church culture or our traditions as necessary for salvation. We have again made a wrong diagnosis which could be extremely damaging.

How can we make sure we are not causing, or contributing to people being wrongly diagnosed?

It’s true that the Bible holds the solution to our greatest need, forgiveness of sin and peace with God. But people are individuals and can’t be treated en masse with the same medicine delivered in the same way.

We need to really listen to a person’s heart when we are speaking one to one with them and not be rushing to solutions or looking around for our next contact.

We all know that there’s nothing more annoying than someone coming up to you at church and asking how you are. Then, as you begin to reply, you notice that the person has gone, or turned their back on you to talk to someone else, or interrupts with an “I’m fine too”, before you can say anything! Or the person who is looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting to talk to, or who seems easily distracted by anything and everything going on around them whilst you are pouring out your heart. It’s just another way of looking at a watch which we would all say is extremely rude!

People are in different circumstances and often we have no idea what they are going through when we talk to them. We need to be sensitive to God’s leading and aware of issues that may crop up in discussions.

It’s obvious, with hindsight, that a wrong medical diagnosis could have led to my collapse halfway up a mountain. Yet, a wrong spiritual diagnosis could have a far more deadly consequence.

Let’s make sure we are not getting in the way of what God is doing by offering people a wrong diagnosis without reference to Him.

Are we Maintaining an Eternal Perspective?

“Our biggest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding in things that in the light of eternity don’t really matter.” (D. L. Moody)

The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that I’ve started and finished with the same quote and poem as last time. Sorry if that bores anyone, although it really shouldn’t in light of the content. I’ve been challenged recently by both. Interestingly, the poem was quoted at both the OAM Supporter’s Conference and the UBM Christian Answer weekend in London by different speakers.

It’s so easy to get distracted in a world full of enticements. There are the obvious vices that most Christians actively seek to avoid as excesses would be classed as sin. However, generally, it is not these that are taking up our time, consuming our thoughts, exhausting our emotional and physical strength and just distracting us from the work of evangelism.

We were reminded at a UBM mission in Llandudno about the need to avoid allowing things to become idols. An idol can be anything that becomes too much of a priority in our lives taking the place of God. Those listed included; money or the things money can buy, ambition, career, success, power, relationships, fame, sport, hobbies, (even knitting for the benefit of the many ladies enthusiastically making jumpers.) If we keep an eternal perspective, things will not become idols because they are passing away and only our souls will live on. We will remember that this life is short and eternity in either Heaven or Hell beckons, not just for us, but for those all around us.

Last weekend, I was on another UBM mission in London. During one session, a panel of men with decades of experience in both living the Christian life and, more specifically, in evangelism, were asked questions submitted by team members. Several questions related to the issue of burnout: how to balance service with rest, church commitments with leisure time etc. Like most, I was expecting a cautious, measured response…

One speaker said that the issue of burnout had more to do with the fact that people have effectively become lazy and expect to have more rest/leisure time. They are training their minds and bodies to become accustomed to playing computer games, watching movies and wasting time in ways that prevent them being ready for work. When the time comes, they feel exhausted quickly as they have not prepared adequately for the mission.

Another reminded us of the terrible fate that awaits those who may not even have heard the Gospel. He spoke about the spiritual battle and the need to remind ourselves constantly that we are in it! Materialism and consumerism were also touched on. The oldest panel member then quoted the poem mentioned already.

There was a deathly silence as the, mostly young, people listening absorbed what had been said. The challenge had been issued but what would be the response?

The interviewer then asked a follow up question about those who are so conscientious that they will make themselves ill by trying to do too much. They will then experience mental or physical burnout which prevents them from doing anything. The answer offered was that this might be God’s way of slowing them down for a period until they are ready for service again. Obviously, if they become ill then they cannot work so are forced to take a rest.

It was mentioned that we have been created for six days of labour and one of rest. A lot of people who burnout are not ensuring they have one day of rest set aside to worship God.

I was surprised to hear these answers but it was definitely an encouragement to press on. God has ways of slowing us down when necessary, and excessive concern about resting and/or experiencing burnout may hinder us in our service.

I have personally had times where I have been forced to rest due to ill health, and also times where I have decided to continue the work despite my health problems and just to do what I can. My health in recent months has recovered dramatically and I’m able to do a lot more. Should I be limiting myself in case I burnout or get ill again?

There are two important considerations. The first is that God knows our minds and bodies better than we do. He has work for us to do and He knows our limitations. Providing our motivation is to serve and glorify Him primarily rather than something else, we should give everything we have to this cause. Worrying about burnout doesn’t help avoid it and may even be a sin as it is failing to trust God with our lives. God has ways of stopping us if we aren’t being wise. We aren’t going to be rebuked for trying to do too much for Him, providing we are only labouring six days a week…

The second consideration refers back to the title of this post. Maintaining an eternal perspective is no easy task. We have to remind ourselves of this daily, or even hourly, as we are prone to forget and other things crowd in. It is the key to fighting idols and distractions of all kinds. We need to be asking ourselves whether the things we are involved in, and giving our time and energies to, are really important in the light of eternity.

Let’s remember that we are in a spiritual battle for souls and that the task of evangelism is a direct command from Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Let’s give everything we have to the task and if we burnout so be it!

 

“When I am dying how glad I shall be
That the lamp of my life has been blazed out for Thee.
I shall be glad in whatever I gave,
Labour, or money, one sinner to save;

I shall not mind that the path has been rough,
That Thy dear feet led the way is enough.
When I am dying how glad I shall be,
That the lamp of my life has been blazed out for Thee!”

Author unknown

What Are You Living For?

Most will be aware of the political and religious controversy surrounding the former Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron. Farron, an evangelical Christian, was, in 2017, repeatedly questioned by journalists about whether or not he believed gay sex was a sin. He eventually answered that it was not, but then realised that he had effectively denied his faith. He resigned.

I’ve seen some negative publicity in Christian circles now that Farron has reversed his original statement. However, I sympathise with him. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Farron learned, the difficult way, that Christians cannot reason with, or hope for any understanding from, an increasingly hostile world, let alone the secular press. His experience proves that light has nothing in common with darkness and that Christians should be in the world but not of it.

When I first heard Farron’s recantation, I thought immediately of the disciple Peter’s denial of Jesus. Was this not a similar situation? Peter, on repentance, was offered immediate and complete forgiveness by Jesus. 

I’m convinced that, given the right circumstances, any one of us could end up in the same position and succumb to the temptation to deny what we believe. Surely, that’s the point of the Bible story: If Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, could deny Him, having been warned, what hope is there for us in our frailty and weakness? 

As fellow Christians, we can learn from Farron’s very public fall from grace by considering what we are living for. It’s easy to say we are living for God and that He is our number one priority, until it costs us something. We are increasingly attached to the world with God tagged on to the edge of our lives.   

In the Bible, idols were made of wood and stone, it was easy to see when the people departed from God to worship them. Now, there is a lot of talk about idols of the heart but we still tend to think of idols in terms of relationships and people. The truth is that anything can become an idol if it stands between us and God or if it gets in the way of that most important relationship. This includes things that may be beneficial, if they become an obsession or are taken to an extreme. 

In a previous post, I mentioned things that were likely to become idols for non-believers (and some believers) at Christmas; money, food, gifts, sex, alcohol etc. These are the obvious, tangible things, but what about the things that are not so visible that we covet or that grip our hearts.

How we spend our time; what we do and the things we spend time thinking about. Our use of time is a good indicator of where our priorities lie because we make time for the things that are important to us. 

I end up in a lot of discussions about the content of Christian books due to being an avid reader and book reviewer. Christian authors are increasingly compromising their standards in order to appeal to a secular audience, or even a Christian audience that has lost its way. Their arguments usually begin with the need to make books more real for an authentic reading experience. 

Readers rally around to support them because their sinful nature is attracted to the graphic details. Is it not the truth, though, that rather than trusting God for their success, these authors are choosing popularity and ambition over Him? They are forgetting that God honours those who honour Him and that we should not love the world or anything in the world. Success has become an idol. 

Are we, as Christians, any different from our non-believing neighbours and friends? Does God and His plan for our lives take centre stage, or have the things of the world crept in and crowded Him out? Do we care about our lost friends and neighbours, or are we preoccupied with worldly matters? Have we grown cold and lost our first love?

Perhaps, it will take a Tim Farron experience to wake Christians up. When everything you have worked for and dreamed of is in one hand and your faith in God is in the other. Then, suddenly, you are confronted with the startling reality that the two things you are holding onto are incompatible and you are forced to make a choice. Which will it be: idols of any kind or God?

Farron was forced to count the cost of following Jesus, and having ventured down a path, seemingly of no return, he faced up to his failure and dealt with his sin. Remembering what, and Who, he was meant to be living for, he chose Jesus over his career and reputation.

He revealed something of the struggle that had been raging in his soul when he quoted martyr Jim Elliot, 

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” 

Earthly idols in all their forms will one day be swept away. Let’s pray that we will each put God on the throne of our lives and cast out any idols lurking there. Then, we will be able to say with confidence that we are living for Him.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

1 John 2 vs 15-17

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”

Revelation 2 vs 4 (to the church in Ephesus)

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”

Philippians 3 vs 18-19